Friends Don't Hit Friends with Steel Chairs
by wharfcoyote
Summary: One day, Seth suddenly starts acting like nothing ever happened between him and Dean and Roman. What are his motives? How will Dean and Roman react?
1. Chapter 1

Dean was bored. He was bored of being surrounded by the same faces night after night. He was bored of the meaningless wrestling matches he kept being stuck in. And, right now, he was bored of the predictable, often bland, food provided by catering. He looked with distaste at the plate of food he had chosen. There wasn't a single thing on it that he actually wanted to eat.

He looked around the room at the assembled wrestlers. They were milling around, some eating, others just hanging around talking, waiting for the show to begin. Cesaro's bald head entered Dean's line of vision like a target. _Now there's something interesting I could do_, Dean thought with an impish smile. He scooped up a spoonful of potato salad and took careful aim.

"Good choice," Seth said, startling him, as he put his tray down on the table across from Dean. "His head makes a particularly satisfying target, but he's pretty chill, so he's more likely to join in than totally flip out."

_What the hell?_ Dean thought, his spoon temporarily forgotten. Dean and Seth had an unspoken agreement. Because fighting backstage was not allowed and resulted in stiff fines, any wrestlers that could not get along were expected to keep their distance. In the early months after the Shield split up, this meant that Seth and Dean avoided even being in the same room. More recently, they had found they could manage being in the same location as long as they deliberately avoided any form of contact. As recently as last week, they were still carefully avoiding eye contact and pretending that the other did not exist when they happened to find themselves in the same room. So what was Seth doing, sitting down with Dean and chatting like nothing had ever happened between them?

"I think I would have gone with Fandango, myself," Seth continued, gesturing over Dean's shoulder to where Fandango was sitting beside Rosa, seemingly oblivious to Dean's confusion. "He probably _would_ flip out." Seth smiled wickedly at the thought as he sat down.

Dean slowly shook his head. Was this a dream? Did Seth somehow hit his head and forget the past year? What game was he playing?

"Maybe we should do it at the same time, cause some real chaos. You go for Cesaro. I'll get Fandango," Seth suggested, chewing on a piece of roasted asparagus.

Dean shrugged his assent and once again readied his spoon as Seth scooped up a glob of red jello from Dean's tray. On the count of three, they each hurled their ammunition at their respective targets. As the catering area quickly broke into an all out food fight, Dean grinned. He didn't know what Seth was up to, but hey, at least it wasn't boring!

xxx

Dean strolled unhurriedly down the hall. He was meeting Roman later to drive to their hotel. It wasn't something they did routinely anymore, but occasionally they would ride together for old time's sake. As he passed the catering area, he noticed Seth inside, working busily to clean up the mess left behind from the food fight. If Dean had witnessed this scene a year ago, he would have been unsurprised. Back then, he would have described Seth as the type of person to clean up after his own (and often others') messes, but that description didn't jibe very well with the spoiled brat persona he had adopted since joining the Authority.

_Maybe Triple H heard that Seth instigated the food fight and is making him clean it up_, Dean thought, but that didn't seem right either. Seth was whistling and joking around with Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury as he wiped down the tables. "Catch!" he called to Jamie as he tossed him the rag he had been using and replaced it with a broom.

Dean shrugged his shoulders and continued down the hall. He would never understand Seth Rollins.

xxx

"So, I heard you had a pretty interesting time in catering this afternoon," Roman said offhandedly as he drove toward the hotel.

"Mm hmm," Dean answered noncommittally.

"You started a food fight?" Roman continued, still trying to sound casual.

"Yep."

"With Seth?" Roman asked, his tone becoming sharper.

"He was there," Dean acknowledged.

"Damn it, Dean." Roman hit the steering wheel with his palm. "Why are you being difficult about this? I just want to know what's going on!"

"I don't know what's going on!" Dean exploded back. "I was just sitting there, thinking about throwing potato salad at Cesaro's head, when Seth walked up and sat with me like nothing had happened."

"And you didn't ask him what the hell he thought he was doing?" Roman asked.

"No. I just went ahead and threw the potato salad at Cesaro."

Roman glanced at Dean disbelievingly. "And what did Seth do?"

"He threw some jello at Fandango."

Roman shook his head. It was official. He would never understand Dean Ambrose. "Look I'm sure there's no need for me to tell you this—"

"—then don't tell me, then," Dean interrupted.

"Just be careful, Dean. There's no telling what Seth is up to," Roman finished stubbornly.

"You think I don't know that?" Dean huffed. "Look, you just worry about yourself. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for a long time. I don't need a big brother to look after poor, little, gullible me."

They finished the car ride in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean was leaning against a wall listening to music and waiting for time to pass when a plastic bottle suddenly whizzed past his face, narrowly missing the trash can a few feet away. He looked up to see Seth grinning at him. Taking out his earbuds he said dryly, "I see your aim hasn't improved over the last few months."

"Oh come on, that was a good shot. It's not like you could make it either," Seth retorted with a smile.

"Of course I could," Dean said, standing up straight.

"Let's see it then."

And that is how Dean ended up playing an impromptu game of HORSE with the traitorous Seth Rollins - which Dean won.

"Good game, man," Seth said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I gotta run now. I need to warm up. See you around."

And he walked away, leaving behind a very confused Dean. _Next time he comes around, I should just punch him in the face_, Dean thought, _remind him where we stand_.

But he didn't. Instead he somehow found himself playing variations of several childhood classics with Seth: catch, tag, kick the can, and a particularly messy game of baseball using a kendo stick and a tennis ball that ended when Seth accidentally batted the ball into Kane's drink knocking it into his lap. He was not amused.

Dean and Seth never really talked about anything during these encounters. But Dean couldn't deny that his anger toward Seth was softening. He wasn't sure whether he was happy about that or not, but he couldn't quite bring himself to quit either. Goofing around with Seth was just too much fun.

xxx

Roman was worried about the amount of time Dean was spending with Seth. Their activities seemed harmless enough, but Roman couldn't stop wondering about Seth's motives. Why was Seth suddenly acting so friendly? What was he hoping to get out of it? Why now? At the same time, Roman was beginning to understand Dean's situation a bit better, because Seth had apparently set his sights on him as well.

It all started innocuously enough: Roman was walking down the hallway when he saw Seth coming from the opposite direction. Roman's jaw tightened with tension, but Seth didn't seem to miss a beat; he just continued down the hallway nonchalantly and, right before they passed by each other, smiled and offered a casual "Hey, man." Roman knew that this meeting wouldn't sound momentous to an outsider, but, as he and Seth had been spending the past year avoiding each other at all cost, it stood out.

These encounters continued with increasing frequency. They irritated Roman, but he didn't know how to stop them without working to just avoid Seth altogether and that didn't seem worth the effort. Roman wondered if all these encounters were truly coincidental or if Seth was engineering them in some way. After all, they had never run into each other like this in the past. _Seth must have been avoiding me before_, Roman decided.

As the meetings continued, Seth became a bit bolder. He began to follow his greeting with a question or a compliment - "How are you?" "That was a great promo tonight." "You're in the main event later?" - but he never stopped long enough for Roman to say more than a word or two in response. Each time Seth said something friendly, Roman wanted to scream, "Why are you being nice to me? You are a traitor! I hate you!" but a very, very small part of Roman had to admit that he felt flattered by the attention as well.

xxx

Roman was waiting to enter the arena for his match with the Big Show, when Seth suddenly sidled up to him out of nowhere and said, "Go for his left knee,"

"What?" Roman replied back, startled.

"Go for his left knee," Seth repeated. "He's been having troubles with it."

"Why should I believe you? He hasn't been wearing a brace or anything."

"Of course, he hasn't been wearing a brace," Seth responded dismissively. "Wearing a brace would be like painting a huge target on his knee with the words 'Hit Me Here.' But I'm telling you, his left knee is messed up."

"And I should trust you because?" Roman asked derisively.

"Look, you don't have to trust me. Taking out a giant's legs is good strategy no matter what. I'm just telling you that you should go after his left one."

"Well aren't you just Mr. Helpful?" Roman mocked. "Shouldn't you be more concerned with helping the Big Show in this match? Isn't he supposed to be part of your _family_?"

"Family? The Big Show? Ha!" Seth snorted. "The Big Show is a pawn. Just like I'm a pawn. There's no loyalty for us. All we have to do is decide if we're getting enough out of the game to make it worth being played. I don't trust the Big Show. He shouldn't trust me. In my whole career I've only trusted two people and, let me tell you, that didn't work out so well for me."

Roman opened his mouth to ask Seth what he meant by _that_, but he was interrupted by his entrance music beginning to play.

"Good luck," Seth muttered as Roman walked out the door.

Roman didn't claim to understand Seth's motives, but he did know one thing for sure: when he clipped the Big Show's left knee, the giant fell and never recovered. Seth had been telling the truth.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean was in a bad mood. First his flight was delayed. Then, once he actually arrived at the airport, he had to wait an ungodly amount of time in line for a rental car. And then, his drive had taken at least four times as long as it should have because of an accident blocking traffic. To top it all off, he had been bitched at by management once he finally made it to the arena for being late. Now, Dean knew that he didn't have the reputation for being the most professional guy ever, but he was almost never late, a fact Dean felt like they should have considered before they dressed him down in front of several of his fellow wrestlers. By the time the show was over, Dean just wanted to get out of there as fast as humanly possible.

He was stopped on his way out of the arena by Seth calling his name.

"Dean! Hey, Dean!" Seth called as he jogged to catch up. "It seems like you've had a pretty shitty day. You wanna go with me to a bar or something?"

Now this was simply too much. Silly kid games were one thing, but going out for drinks with Seth was something else altogether. Dean rounded on his former friend. "Look, Seth," he practically growled, "I can see where I might have given you the wrong idea, but we are not friends. Friends don't hit friends with steel chairs. Friends don't curb stomp friends' heads on cinder blocks. I used you as an amusement because I was bored. You were like a toy, but now I'm tired of you. I want you to leave me alone."

The friendly smile on Seth's face shifted for a fraction of a second into an angry grimace before being replaced by a look of stoic indifference. "Okay, fine," he said and turned and walked away.

Dean had meant what he said. He and Seth _weren't_ friends, but by the next morning he was sort of regretting his harshness. It wasn't that he wanted to be friends with Seth again exactly, but, damn it, he _had_ missed him. It had been nice pretending that everything was all okay.

When Seth did as Dean had requested and left him alone, Dean tried to assure himself that it was for the best. _That whole nice act was probably just a scheme anyway. It's better that we just stay away from each other._

But a week later when Seth once again sat down across from him in catering and began folding a paper football, Dean didn't put up a fight. He simply explained to Seth that he was the paper football king and that he was going to kick his ass. And that was all it took for things to go back to their new normal.

xxx

The weeks passed, and Roman watched as Dean and Seth found evermore ways to amuse themselves backstage. If he was honest with himself, he felt a little left out. All three of them used to goof around like that together, but Dean and Roman had stopped after Seth's betrayal. In the beginning, right after Seth had turned on them, neither Dean nor Roman had been in any mood to play games. However, as the shock wore off and they began to adjust to their new reality, Dean had attempted to initiate a game or two. Each time, though, Roman had pushed him away, and he soon stopped trying. Roman didn't blame Dean for giving up on him. After all, that had never been his role. Seth had always been the one to push and prod and cajole Roman into letting loose, and without Seth, that part of their relationship had disappeared. Until now. Seth and Dean had rekindled that playfulness without him.

Roman was sitting in catering sullenly staring at his empty plate when a plastic ball, the cheap kind that they keep in big bins in grocery stores, suddenly whacked him in the head. Roman looked up to see both Dean and Seth waving at him.

As if reading his thoughts, Dean yelled, "Hey, Ro! We're gonna play dodgeball. You want in?"

"Nah, that's okay," Roman responded automatically as he threw the ball back. _Damn it!_ he thought, mentally kicking himself for refusing. _Why do I always default to saying no?_

_Because he's with Seth, and Seth can't be trusted_, a little voice answered back.

_But it would be fun_, another voice taunted.

_Great. Now I'm arguing with myself,_ Roman thought grimly.

"Whatsa matter, Roman?" Seth teased. "You afraid of a little competition? I mean, I know dodgeball was never really your sport…"

"Oh come on. I could beat you two goons with one arm tied behind my back," Roman answered, pushing his doubts aside.

"Them's fightin' words," Seth called back, throwing the ball to Roman again. "Bring it on, big man."

Roman smiled confidently and walked over to where Seth and Dean were standing, dropping off his tray on the way.

"We should probably go somewhere a little less populated," Seth suggested, looking around. "Some people get really touchy when you knock over their drinks."

Dean and Seth both laughed. Seth led them all to a large empty room far from catering.

"Do you, like, scout out all the arenas we work in?" Dean asked, looking around.

"Of course," Seth answered matter-of-factly.

"Are we going to stand around and talk or are we going to do this thing?" Roman demanded.

Dean and Seth both nodded and backed away from Roman to begin the game. And as Roman ran, dodged, ducked, and threw, he marveled at how _fun_ this was, how _right_ it felt. Both Dean and Seth wore exhilarated smiles on their sweaty faces, and Roman knew his face bore a matching grin. It was weird. He should want to strangle Seth, not spend time with him. He would really need to sit Seth down sometime soon for a long conversation. Maybe it was possible to clear the air. Or maybe they were all just deluding themselves. He would really have to figure out which one it was sooner rather than later.

Just not right now.


	4. Chapter 4

"Do we really have to do this?" Dean whined as they walked toward Seth's locker room.

"Yes," Roman answered firmly. "We have to find out what he's up to."

"But I don't wanna."

Roman understood. Part of him didn't want to find out what Seth was up to either. They had begun to feel attached to the little weasel again in spite of themselves. If they found out that he was up to no good then they would have to stop hanging out with him. And that would hurt. When Seth had broken up the Shield, he had left a hole that apparently only he could fill. It would really suck to lose him all over again. "Better now than later," Roman said grimly.

Roman marched determinedly to Seth's locker room and threw open the door without bothering to knock. Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury scurried to stand in front of Seth as Roman and Dean barged into the room. _They're loyal bodyguards_, he thought, _I'll give them that_.

"It's alright, guys," Seth assured Jamie and Joey. "Why don't you give us some privacy?"

"But, boss—" Jamie began to argue.

"I said it's fine," Seth said, this time with a slight edge to his voice. "Just go on back to the hotel. I'll meet you there later."

Jamie looked like he was about to argue some more, but a hard look from Seth finally had them grabbing their bags and heading for the door.

Seth, Roman, and Dean all remained silent until the door closed behind them, and they were alone.

"Dean, Roman, would you like to take a seat?" Seth offered nervously, gesturing to the folding chairs scattered around him. "Or maybe you would like to go somewhere more comfortable for this… conversation?"

"This'll be fine," Roman said, pulling up a chair and sitting in it backwards. Seth and Dean followed suit.

After several long seconds spent just looking at each other, Seth broke the silence. "Well, what's this all about?" he asked.

Dean and Roman exchanged a long look before Roman finally offered a reply. "We think you know what this is about, Seth. What are you up to? Why are you suddenly being so friendly?"

"Well," Seth said, fidgeting with his hair, "I don't think it is really much of a mystery. I'm being friendly because I'm hoping…" He looked at his feet. "I'm hoping that maybe we can be friends again," he finished quickly, avoiding eye contact.

"We're not stupid. We know that much," Roman said. "What we don't know is _why_ you're so eager to friends again. What's the angle, Seth? What are you hoping to gain now?"

"What do you mean?" Seth looked up, an expression of genuine confusion on his face. "There's no angle. I just want to be friends."

"Oh, isn't that sweet," Dean replied sarcastically. "Did you hear that Roman? Sethie here wants to be our friend. I thought I already explained this to you, Seth. Friends don't do the kinds of things to each other that you've done to us. Friends don't stab each other in the back."

"And friends don't steal their friends' WrestleMania moment and chance at the championship," Roman added coldly.

Seth looked at Roman and Dean in turn. "Oh, get off your high horse!" he finally exclaimed. "I only did to you what you were already planning to do to me. The only difference is that I managed to do it first!"

"What are you talking about? I would never—" Dean said angrily.

"You would never?" Seth interrupted. "I saw the text, Dean. I know what you were planning. You were going to betray me just like I betrayed you, so you can drop the holier than thou attitude right now. I was angry, I got revenge, and now I'm over it."

"_You_? _You_ are over it? What do you have to get over? I don't know what you're talking about!" Dean yelled.

"Yes, I hope you're ready to explain yourself," Roman said, his voice icy, "because I was loyal to the Shield until the end."

"Oh, is that right?" Seth asked, looking Roman in the eyes. "You know, I take it back, Roman. You weren't planning on doing what I did at all. No, you had something else in mind. You weren't planning to _betray_ the Shield. You were planning to _transcend_ the Shield. Let's get something straight. You already had one foot out the door before I did anything. You weren't rooming with us anymore. You weren't riding with us anymore. The only time we saw you was at shows and even then you were distant. You might not have been planning to stab us in the back like Dean was, but it was going to work out the same nonetheless. You were still leaving; you were just hoping we wouldn't notice when it happened. That's bullshit! I trusted you! I thought we were family! I thought we were brothers! But I was wrong. If you two weren't going to be loyal to the Shield, then I wasn't going to be either. I created the Shield. I damn well wasn't going to let one of you destroy it!"

Seth stood up, turned his back, and kicked the wall. Roman thought he saw tears in his eyes. Dean sat open-mouthed in his chair. Seth swiped his hand across his eyes furiously and sat back down.

Roman cleared his throat, a bit unsettled after Seth's outburst. _I think he actually believes what he's saying is true_, Roman thought, surprised. _Otherwise he's a damn fine actor._ But one question kept niggling at the back of his mind. "Here's what I don't understand," he said aloud. "If you really believe any of this shit - that Dean was going to betray us, that I was going to leave - then why are you trying to be friends with us?"

"Because I miss you," Seth choked out miserably. "I tried to hate you for what you did. I tried really, really hard, but I can't. So… here we are." He lifted his hands helplessly.

"Seth, look. I don't know what you think you know," Dean said, " but I was never planning on betraying anybody."

"I saw the text, Dean," Seth replied wearily.

"Seth, Dean, please," Roman said. "It's clear that Seth has a very different idea of how things went down than we do. We were friends for a long time. I think it is only fair that we hear him out."

Dean nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, Seth. Could you please tell us what you think happened? Just start at the beginning." Roman instructed.

"Wait," Dean interrupted. "One more thing before we get started. If it's true that you just wanted to be friends again, then why all the games? Why not just be straightforward about the whole thing and come and talk to us?"

Seth looked at him skeptically. "You think that would have worked? I mean, maybe so, but I was pretty sure if I just walked up to you and said, 'Hey, man, can we talk for a minute?' that you would just laugh in my face or tell me to go to hell. So I thought it would be better if I kept you a bit off-balance, you know? So you wouldn't just reject me outright. And then I could kinda worm my way back into your lives." Seth shrugged. "Sorry if I was wrong."

Dean looked at Seth consideringly. "I hadn't thought about it like that," he conceded. "Yeah. Maybe. I don't know."

"Let's get back to the point. We don't have all night," Roman cut in. "Seth, the beginning."

Seth closed in eyes in concentration. "Sure, the beginning…"


	5. Chapter 5

"I guess it all really began about two weeks before Payback," Seth explained. "Stephanie called me into her office. It was weird because she said that she only wanted to see me, not the three of us."

"Wait a minute," Dean interrupted. "Why didn't you tell us about this meeting with Stephanie at the time?"

"I _did_ tell you."

"Really? 'Cause I think I would remember something like that," Dean answered doubtfully.

Seth sighed. He turned to face Dean directly. "I did tell you, Dean. We were getting ready to leave, and I got a call on my cell. Remember? I told you Stephanie needed to see me. Roman asked if you two needed to come, and I said no. So you told me to make it quick because you were ready to get out of there. I told you to go on then, that I would catch a ride back to the hotel. Remember now? Does any of this sound familiar?" At Dean's blank stare, he turned to Roman. "Roman, surely you remember this?"

"Umm, maybe?" Roman hedged. "It was a long time ago. Wait. Weren't you supposed to tell us about it when you got back?"

"Yeah."

"Well, why didn't you then?" Dean asked accusingly.

"I'll get there, alright? I can't tell you everything at once," Seth snapped.

"Alright, alright," Roman said soothingly. "Everybody calm down. Seth, why don't you go ahead and tell us about your meeting with Stephanie now?"

"Fine," Seth grumbled, shooting irritable looks at Dean. "So I went to Stephanie's office and…"

* * *

"_Seth," Stephanie McMahon said warmly as she stood to shake Seth's hand. "Please take a seat. I'm glad you could make it."_

"_Was it optional?"_

_Stephanie laughed and then turned serious as she began to speak. "Seth, I would like to talk to you about a fantastic opportunity. Now, you are well aware that the Shield has been causing some… problems for the Authority lately. We don't believe that these problems benefit you or us. Therefore, we would like to extend an invitation for you to rejoin the Authority." Stephanie smiled radiantly as if she were offering to triple his pay rather than asking him for a favor._

"_Stephanie, with all due respect," Seth replied, "we've tried that already. It didn't work for us. Besides, I really don't think that Roman and Dean would go for it. They are really looking forward to getting their hands on Evolution at Payback."_

_Stephanie's grin grew even bigger. "I think you misunderstand. We don't want the Shield to rejoin the Authority. We just want you."_

_Seth laughed. "Why would I do that? Roman and Dean are my brothers. We are the most dominant faction of all time. Why would I leave that behind?"_

"_The Authority could give you great opportunities, Seth: publicity, protection, title matches. As a member of the Authority, you could be the future of the WWE," Stephanie promised grandly._

"_I don't need the Authority to be the future. I make my own opportunities," Seth protested._

"_Yes, and you have to share those opportunities with two other people."_

"_Dean and Roman make me better," Seth insisted._

"_Dean and Roman would turn on you at any minute if the conditions were right," Stephanie countered. "In fact, I've been hearing a lot of rumors on that very subject lately. Apparently, they have been asking around; seeing what they could get for turning on their brothers." Stephanie's smile turned into a sneer as she pronounced the last word._

"_Bullshit. If that was the case then you wouldn't be talking to me. You could just talk to one of them and have an easier sell."_

"_But we don't want them," Stephanie said, her smile back in place. "They would only be in it for themselves. We want a team player. Someone like you."_

"_Well, I'm not interested," Seth said firmly. "I'll stick beside my brothers. I don't care what rumors you might or might not have heard." He started to stand._

"_Wait," Stephanie ordered. Seth sat back down reluctantly. "I just have one more thing I want to say and then you can go. You don't trust the rumors. That's understandable. But you don't have to listen to rumors to know that Dean and Roman aren't as committed to you as you are to them. You only have to look at history. I'm sure you could come up with lots of examples, but let's start with the Royal Rumble. What happened there, Seth? You went in second and busted your ass trying to work as a team. But what about your so-called brothers? Dean tried to dump Roman as soon as it was convenient, and Roman retaliated by dumping you both out of the ring. Now tell me, was that fair? What did you do but try to stick to the plan? But it didn't matter because in the end you became collateral damage. And that is just what you'll end up being if you stick with the Shield, Seth: collateral damage."_

_Seth shifted uneasily in his seat. She had hit a nerve, but he didn't want to admit it. "The Royal Rumble is ancient history. We've talked about it and moved on. We are stronger than ever."_

"_Okay, then," Stephanie said. "I admire your loyalty. That is why I think you would make such a good addition to the Authority. Just know that if you change your mind, the offer is open."_

"_I'm not going to change my mind."_

* * *

"So I left her office and headed back to the hotel to tell you guys all about it. I have to admit she managed to get in my head, but I thought I would feel better if I could talk it out with you two," Seth concluded.

"Which you never ended up doing," Roman pointed out. "So what happened to keep you from talking to us?"

"Well, so I got back to the the hotel and—"

"Wait," Dean interrupted. "So you're trying to blame this whole thing on Stephanie? That's pretty weak, man."

"No, I'm just trying to set the scene," Seth answered. "Roman asked me to start at the beginning after all. I'm just trying to give you an idea of where my head was at, why I started getting paranoid. Which was totally warranted, by the way, given what you had planned. I could have started other places instead, you know. Like the Royal Rumble for example, or the time you left me high and dry in a match, or the time you two argued for five hours straight over what to listen to on the radio."

"Hey! It's not my fault Roman has horrible taste in music!" Dean exclaimed.

"So, I like to listen to pop music sometimes," Roman argued back. "It's not a crime. It reminds me of my wife and daughter."

"You wanted to listen to Katy Perry! You got pissed when I tried to change the station!"

"Hey now. My baby girl can sing along to every word of 'Roar.' It makes me think of her."

"Oh yeah?" Dean jeered. "Well, what's your excuse for wanting to listen to Taylor Swift then?"

"Hey! You haven't lived until you've seen my princess dance to 'Shake It Off.' Look. I've got a video on my phone. Let me show you." Roman began to dig in his pocket for his cell phone.

"Gentleman, please," Seth said firmly. "I think we are getting a little off track here. The point is that there have been times when it looked like you two would rather kill each other than work together as a unit. Now—"

"Oh come on. That argument over music wasn't that bad," Roman cut in.

"Not that bad?" Seth screeched. "You left Dean behind at a gas station!"

"But I went back."

"Yeah, you went back… after I spent nearly fifteen minutes pleading for you to turn around," Seth said.

"Ahh, did you really?" Dean asked. "That was sweet of you."

Seth looked from Dean to Roman incredulously, then raised his eyes to the ceiling and exhaled slowly. "Okay. Whatever. The point is—"

"Hey! How do I know that any of this is true?" Dean blurted out.

"What?" Seth asked.

"How do I know this is true?" Dean repeated. "We weren't there. How do I know you're not making this whole thing up?"

"Well," Seth said slowly, "I don't have any proof or anything, but if I was going to lie, don't you think I would make something up that would make me look a little better? I mean, instead of admitting that Stephanie got in my head wouldn't it sound better if I said that she… I don't know… threatened to fire all of us unless I joined the Authority or something? As it is, it just looks like I got played."

"Yeah, but that could just be a part of some sort of bigger, more complex scheme," Dean pointed out.

"God, Dean! I'm not some kind of evil comic book villain. You know that right?" Seth looked at Dean questioningly. "I mean, I know I claim to like manipulating people and all, but that's just a persona I made up. I would think that you of all people would know better than to believe that shit."

"I don't know," Dean said rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I've never had any trouble believing that you are some kind of evil genius."

"Ugh," Seth groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm not an evil genius, Dean," Seth said, enunciating each word clearly. "It's just an act. Man, once people get the idea in their heads that you're some kind of master manipulator, they start giving you credit for all sorts of things that you really had nothing to do with. I'm telling you, it's about twenty percent genuine scheming and eighty percent hubris."

"You're not helping your case, you know," Dean said with mock seriousness, "because I'm pretty sure that hubris is a word that only evil geniuses know."

Seth groaned again, and Roman rolled his eyes. "So you met with Stephanie," Roman said trying to get the conversation back on track. "She managed to get inside your head. You left to talk to us but never did. What happened?"


	6. Chapter 6

**So, I meant for this chapter to be posted at the same time as the last one, but that didn't happen because of... reasons. Sorry, everyone!**

* * *

"Well, when I got back to the hotel—" Seth began.

"Wait a minute," Dean interrupted. "Who did you end up riding with?"

"What?" Seth asked, confused.

"We had the rental car, so who did you ride back to the hotel with?" Dean elaborated.

"Dean, is this really important?" Roman cut in.

"I'm just curious," Dean said defensively.

"I caught a ride with Cesaro," Seth answered.

"Cesaro? What was he still doing at the arena?" Dean asked.

"Dean, that's enough," Roman said firmly. "Let Seth finish his story."

"Fine, fine," Dean muttered.

Seth waited a beat to see if Dean was truly finished and then continued. "So Cesaro dropped me off, and I walked up to our room. As I got close I could hear yelling."

* * *

"_For the last time, Dean, stay out of my stuff!" Roman yelled._

"_What the hell is your problem?" Dean yelled back. "It was just a t-shirt. It's not like I went through your whole bag."_

"_I don't care if it was just a t-shirt! I've told you before. I don't want you messing with my stuff!"_

_Seth stood uncertainly at the door. He opened it partially but didn't walk in. He didn't really want to play referee for yet another Roman and Dean confrontation, but he really needed to talk to them. Maybe if he just waited, they would burn themselves out?_

"_I don't know why you're getting so riled up," Dean continued heatedly. "Seth takes your stuff all the time, and you never yell at him."_

"_Well, if I let Seth jump off a bridge, would you do it too?" Roman replied sarcastically._

"_I'm pretty sure that's not how that saying works."_

_Roman huffed in exasperation. "Just stay out of my stuff," he ordered in a low, deadly voice._

"_Oh, I'll stay out of your stuff," Dean replied. "In fact, I'll do you one better, I'll stay out of your life!" Seth heard a muffled noise that was probably Dean throwing the disputed t-shirt at Roman._

"_You do that," Roman said, his voice still icy. "I'll even make it easy for you. I'm leaving!" Seth could hear more muffled noises coming from the hotel room._

"_Leave then! See if I care. In fact, why don't you just stay gone while you're at it! You already think you're better than us," Dean yelled as the hotel door jerked open and Roman appeared in the threshold, bags in hand._

_Seth backed away, slightly startled. "Hey man. Looks like I've walked in on a bit of an argument. How about we all go sit down and work this through?" _

"_Leave me alone, Seth. I'm done working things through," Roman said stubbornly. "I'm getting my own hotel room."_

"_Alright. That's cool. We can work it out once you've had a chance to cool off, then," Seth responded uncertainly. _

"_Whatever," Roman muttered as he stalked off toward the lobby._

_Seth watched him go for a few seconds then turned to finally enter his room._

"_What happened, man?" Seth asked Dean as he sat his bags down at the foot of his bed._

"_Don't start with me!" Dean snapped angrily._

"_What? I—"_

"_Just don't start! I know how this goes. You're gonna try to get me to calm down and go apologize to Roman. Well, it isn't going to work! I'm sick and tired of this bullshit!"_

"_Okay, then. How about we—"_

"_No, Seth," Dean interrupted, pacing as he talked. "Whatever you're gonna say, just no. I don't need you to try to help me, or fix me, or calm me down. In fact, I don't need you at all. The only thing I need is some space. I'm leaving."_

"_Where are you going?" Seth asked weakly._

"_Out." And he stormed out, slamming the door behind him._

* * *

"Dean came back later that night, but you never did," Seth finished looking at Roman. "You started rooming and driving by yourself. We were together at work, of course, but there just didn't seem to be a good time to talk to you both after that."

Roman squirmed a little and looked at the floor. "I guess I can see how all that would contribute to your paranoia."

"Oh, come on! We used to fight like that all the time," Dean exclaimed.

Neither Seth nor Roman responded. They just turned toward Dean and stared.

"Which I guess didn't really help matters either," Dean finally conceded reluctantly.

"You know, I didn't actually stop rooming with you guys because of the fight," Roman admitted quietly. "It was just a convenient excuse. I was having some marital problems at that time that I didn't want to deal with in front of an audience. I should have told you what was really going on."

"Oh," Seth said, his skin turning slightly gray as he soaked in this new information. "Damn, I wish I'd known that. I mean, I understand, but I thought you… Well, you know what I thought. Anyway, I was just trying to make it clear why I never told you guys about how my meeting with Stephanie went. But it doesn't really matter because I didn't leave because of the fight. I mean, it didn't help after everything Stephanie said to me, but it wasn't ultimately the reason I left. I left because of the text."

"You keep going on and on about this mysterious text!" Dean said, his voice getting louder with irritation. "Just tell us about it already!"

"I don't know why you keep putting up this facade like you don't know what I'm talking about. I mean, I'm over it now, but it would be nice if you would at least acknowledge the truth," Seth said, irritation creeping into his voice as well. "But whatever, man, I'm getting to it now. So, it was the afternoon after Payback. I was in the hotel. Roman, you weren't there obviously, because you were staying in another room. Dean, you had gone out too. I think to get some food or something. I stayed in because I wanted to get in a quick workout before the show. I was just about to leave when I heard your phone buzz."

* * *

_Seth looked at Dean's phone irritably. He simply couldn't understand how Dean always managed to leave it behind. Did he do it on purpose? Seth thought about just ignoring the text but decided to check it just in case it was something important._

_He picked up the phone. It was just a text from Roman saying that he was at the store and wanting to know if Dean needed anything. Seth wasn't bothered that Roman hadn't texted to ask him as well. Ever since the Great Toothpaste Incident of 2012, Roman didn't shop for Seth anymore. It had happened soon after they had all gotten together. Roman had asked them both if they needed anything before he went shopping, and Seth had asked for a very specific kind of toothpaste. Roman had gotten the wrong kind, and Seth had complained about it nonstop for a week. In the end, Roman got so fed up with Seth's complaining that he vowed to never shop for him again. It was a promise that he had kept._

_Though he was in a hurry, Seth decided to answer Roman before he left. Dean had been complaining about being out of Dr. Pepper. Just as he finished the text and was about to put the phone down, he noticed the name underneath Roman's on the _Messages _screen. _What is Dean texting Hunter about? _he wondered. He knew he shouldn't look, but his curiosity got the best of him. He touched Hunter's name and read the words on the screen._

"_Son of a bitch."_

* * *

"I read your text, Dean. You left your phone in the hotel, and I read it. The one you wrote to Hunter the same day I supposedly betrayed you? Remember now?" Seth asked pointedly.

"No!" Dean said angrily.

"Get to the point, Seth," Roman ordered. "What did the text say?"

"It said that he was sick of the Shield and was going to leave soon!" Seth answered. "So I made the executive decision to leave first. I should have talked to you first Roman, but at that time I believed you already had one foot out the door. I was angry. The Shield was going to end, and I couldn't stop it. So I decided to gain back some control in the only way I could. If I couldn't prevent the Shield from self-destructing, then I was going to destroy it myself. I had no intention of becoming collateral damage."

Dean stood up and pushed his chair back noisily. "I never sent a text like that! I don't even have Triple H's phone number!"

"I _saw_ it," Seth countered.

"We should be able to settle this easily enough," Roman interrupted. "Dean, I think I already know the answer, but do you ever delete your text messages?"

"You can delete text messages?"

"Let me see you phone," Roman demanded.

"It's a miracle. He actually has it with him for once," Seth mumbled as Dean pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Roman.

Roman quickly entered Dean's code and touched the _Messages_ icon. "The message was sent to Hunter?" he asked Seth.

"Yes," Seth verified, " on June 2, 2014."

Roman did a quick search and found what he was looking for almost immediately. He scanned the message, scowled, and held up the phone so that everyone could see the words written on the screen:

Dean: I'm sick of this trio bullshit. I can't wait to be alone.  
Hunter: When are you leaving?  
Dean: Soon.

* * *

**Yes, yes, I know. Another cliffhanger. I'm sorry. But in my defense, the last chapter wouldn't have seemed nearly as cliffhangery if this chapter had been posted at the same time as I intended. Also, resolutions are coming in the next chapter. I promise. Scout's honor.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Dean," Roman said, his voice dangerously calm, "do you care to explain the meaning of this?"

Dean took the phone from Roman and read through the words yet again.

_Dean: I'm sick of this trio bullshit. I can't wait to be alone._  
_Hunter: When are you leaving?_  
_Dean: Soon._

"I… I never… I don't understand," he stammered.

Roman stood up, stomped over to Dean, and grabbed the phone from his hands. "You were sick of this trio bullshit, were you?" he growled, holding the phone in front of Dean's face. "All this time you acted all innocent, letting me believe that Seth's betrayal came out of nowhere, when actually you were planning the same damn thing. You acted so hurt, too. Yeah, it must've really hurt that he beat you to it." He shoved the phone hard into Dean's chest.

"I didn't write those texts!" Dean said urgently, his eyes moving pleadingly back and forth between Roman and Seth. "You have to believe me!"

Seth watched the unfolding scene uneasily. This was not how this was supposed to go. He had already found out that he had been wrong about Roman. Was it possible that he had been wrong about Dean as well? His stomach clenched painfully at the thought.

"Roman," Seth said, his voice raspy. "Wait. Back off a minute, will ya?"

Roman frowned but stepped away from Dean nonetheless. He looked expectantly at Seth.

"Dean?" Seth asked timidly. "You're telling us the truth? Those texts weren't yours?"

"No! I was never planning on leaving the Shield," Dean answered fervently. "I mean, I know I said some dumb shit when we were fighting, but I never really meant any of it. You guys are my brothers."

Seth's breath caught at Dean's use of the present tense when describing him as a brother, but Roman remained unconvinced.

"So what happened, then?" Roman asked. "Did those texts just magically appear on your phone?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone took my phone and planted the messages on it."

"But what would be the point of that?" Roman asked, finally sitting back down.

"Well, the Authority was trying to recruit Seth. Maybe they wanted to strengthen their case?" Dean answered.

"And they were just hoping that he would happen to find it?" Roman asked skeptically.

"They could have been planning to tell him about it later," Dean suggested.

"No, that doesn't make sense," Seth said, thinking hard. "Those texts were sent that morning and your phone was in the hotel room with me and you that whole time. No one else had access to it."

"_You_ had access to it," Roman said, looking at Seth accusingly. "How do I know that this isn't some big scheme to drive a wedge between me and Dean?"

"Yeah," Dean agreed thoughtfully. "That is true."

"How does that even make sense?" Seth said, his dread morphing into anger. "I've been working for weeks now to gain your trust back. You think I did all that just so I could split you up now?" He stood and began pacing around the room. "And besides, for that to work, I would've had to have that plan in place already way back then. So what are you thinking, then? That I planted those texts, let them sit for months, and am just now deciding to use them? What kind of plan is that? If I really wanted to drive a wedge between you two, I'm sure I could figure out something better than that convoluted bullshit!"

"I guess you have a point," Roman conceded.

"I don't know," Dean said. "I'm pretty sure that evil geniuses' plans are supposed to be convoluted. Think a little harder, Seth. I'm sure you could make it make sense if you just worked hard enough at it."

Seth's fingers itched. He wished he had something handy to throw at Dean. But the corners of his mouth twitched upward anyway.

"So, what did happen then?" Roman asked with a frustrated sigh.

"Uhh, I don't know. I know that I didn't do it. Dean says that he didn't do it. Nobody else had access to the phone. That leaves what? Sleep-texting?" Seth guessed.

"Or someone is lying," Roman stated bluntly.

Seth cleared his throat uncomfortably. Dean glared at Roman.

"Dean," Seth finally said, after several awkward seconds, "were there any other texts on that thread?"

"Um, I'm not sure," Dean answered, breaking his eye contact with Roman and picking up his phone. He scrolled through the texts. Suddenly his eyes widened in understanding. "Ohhh," he said, "these texts were to _Hunter_."

"We knew that already," Roman said irritably.

"Not that Hunter. Not Triple H. Hunter Johnston." Dean looked at Seth. "You know him, right?"

Seth felt sick as he nodded. _This doesn't add up_, he thought miserably. _I must've been wrong about Dean._ He shook his head, trying to focus. "Hunter Johnston? Yeah, I know him," he forced out.

Dean continued, oblivious to Seth's discomfort. "We both worked the indies back in the day. We were never really in the same place at the same time, so I don't know him very well, but we have some friends in common. A friend of a friend put him in touch with me. Apparently, he was going to be driving through Vegas and was looking for a place to crash. That's why we were texting. It never worked out, though. God, I totally forgot about all that."

"That's all well and good, but it doesn't change the fact that you told him that you were sick of us, now does it?" Roman replied stubbornly.

"Give me a minute. I'm still trying to figure that part out," Dean snapped. "It doesn't make sense. I don't remember typing that. I loved being a part of the Shield. I mean, of course I wanted to get off by myself sometimes, but you two were like the family I never had." Dean stared at the phone, mumbling under his breath, as if trying to will himself to remember the context of the message.

"O is next to P," Seth suddenly whispered, more to himself than to anyone else.

"What?" Dean asked.

"O is next to P," Seth repeated, louder this time.

When Roman and Dean just looked at him in confusion, Seth continued, his voice cracking, "On the keyboard, O is next to P. I bet you weren't typing _trio_; you were typing _trip_. You were sick of this trip bullshit."

"Ohhh, you're right," Dean agreed happily. "I remember now. I was so sick of traveling. I just wanted to be home, by myself, and not have to drive or fly anywhere else."

"And when Hunter asked when you were leaving—" Roman started.

"He literally meant when was I leaving. Like when was I leaving Rosemont to head to Indianapolis," Dean finished.

Dean smiled exuberantly, happy to finally have an explanation. Roman returned his smile, but Seth just looked gray.

"Dude, you don't look so good," Dean commented.

"Excuse me," Seth said weakly, and he bolted out of the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Seth sprinted down the hallway, barely making it to the restroom before the contents of his stomach decided to make an unceremonious second appearance. He stood heaving over the toilet, life turned upside down. As recently as twenty minutes ago, he had been absolutely positive that his actions had been completely justified. He had been wrong. Painfully, utterly wrong. When he was sure that he was finished, he stumbled to the sink, his eyes carefully avoiding his reflection in the mirror. He took his time rinsing out his mouth and splashing water on his face, dreading the moment when he would finally have to face Dean and Roman again.

After several long minutes, he decided that he had delayed the inevitable long enough. It was time to man up, go back to his locker room, and deal with his former brothers face-to-face. Could they ever forgive him for what he had done? He shuffled out of the restroom and was surprised to find Dean and Roman waiting for him outside the door. Whatever strength he had managed to summon before he left fled at the sight of his two former teammates. He gave into the weakness, sinking down against the wall and resting his face on his knees. Whatever they had planned, they would meet no resistance from Seth. He was sure he deserved whatever punishment they decided to dish out.

He felt rather than saw Dean crouch down beside him. "You okay?" Dean asked gently.

A crazed half-laugh, half-sob escaped from Seth's throat. "No," he answered, his voice muffled. He forced himself to lift his head, turning it to look at Dean. "I lost everything," he said, trying desperately to keep his voice steady. "Everything. Almost a year of my life. My brothers. My honor. My dignity. I threw it all away. All because of some stupid misunderstandings and a typo. I'm so stupid, Dean. I should have know better."

Seth leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. There it was, all out in the open. Now they would leave him. After all, they had no reason to stay. They had gotten the answers they were looking for. He just couldn't bear to watch them walk away. Losing them would be so much harder this time, knowing now that he was entirely to blame.

But rather than hearing footsteps echoing down the hallway, Seth instead heard Roman sliding down the wall to sit at his other side. He opened his eyes, curious despite his misgivings.

"Well, it did look pretty bad," Roman said, his voice calm. "You saw me in there. That text got me, and I didn't even have the excuse of all those extenuating circumstances that you were dealing with. Who knows how I would have reacted if it had me to find that text instead of you."

"Yeah," Dean added, "I was almost ready to kick my own ass after reading that text."

Seth's lips curled slightly at Dean's comment.

"And, hey," Dean continued. "It's not like you lost _everything_. At least you got a nice shiny gold belt out of the deal."

The smile disappeared. Seth groaned miserably. "Shit. I'm so sorry about that, Roman. At the time, I thought it would be kind of like poetic justice, you know? You decided to pull away to become the next big thing, so I decided to steal your big moment. Now, I just feel like an asshole."

"Well," Roman answered carefully. "I can't say that I wasn't mad. But, really, I should have seen it coming. It's not like Brock gave you all that many opportunities to cash in your contract. And, if it hadn't been you, it would've just been someone else waiting with the briefcase." Roman paused. "But, man, I bet they wouldn't have thought to cash it in _during_ the damn match." He shook his head. "I still can't believe you did that. That was genius."

"Some might even say _evil_ genius," Dean added with a grin.

"Shut up," Seth said, nudging Dean with his shoulder. "I was just trying to maximize my chance of success. And, well, indulging my vindictive side." He turned to look at Roman. "Look, Roman, I'll make it up to you. I'll make sure you get a title shot as soon as possible. A fair shot. I owe you that much, for sure."

"I'll hold you to that," Roman agreed.

"And, Dean," Seth said, turning the other direction. "I'm sorry. I should have know better. My head just got so messed up what with Stephanie playing mind games, and the fight, and Roman avoiding us. But that's not an excuse. I should have trusted you. I should have just confronted you about that text. Well, really, I never should have looked at it in the first place. But once I did, I should have gone to you about it. I know it doesn't change anything, but I just want you to know that I know I was wrong and that I'm really sorry."

"Alright," Dean answered simply.

"Well, umm," Seth said unsurely after no one said anything else for several seconds. "I guess... that's it then. Just so you know, I won't bug you anymore. I'll leave you both alone from now on." He pushed up to his feet.

"And why is that?" Roman asked, standing up and putting his hand on Seth's shoulder.

"Uh, because you don't want me around?" Seth answered uncertainly.

"That never stopped you before, " Dean said, rising to his feet as well.

"Yeah, but before I thought we were all on a level playing field. Now I know I was wrong. You can't possibly want me around after what I did."

"You were willing to forgive me when you thought I was going to do the same thing," Dean said pointedly.

"Yeah. You've been working for weeks now to get us all back together. Are you just going to give up now?" Roman added.

"What are you saying?" Seth asked, his heart pounding nervously.

"We're saying that we missed you, little brother," Roman answered.

"You're serious?" Seth asked tentatively. "You too, Dean?"

"Me too," Dean said, throwing his arm around Seth's shoulders. "Life was boring without you around."

Seth stood still, speechless.

"You okay there, Seth?" Roman asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah. It's just a lot to take in. I can't believe you're willing to forgive me after everything that I've done to you."

"Oh, relax. What are a few chair shots between brothers, after all?" Dean said grandly, patting Seth on the back.

"Thanks, man," Seth said sincerely. "So, uhh, what do we do now?"

"Well, I don't know about the two of you, but it's late and I'm beat," Roman said. "I'm gonna head on back to the hotel. Tomorrow is soon enough to figure out the rest."

"Oh. Right," Seth said. "I guess I should call Joey then. See if he can come pick me up."

"You don't have a car of your own?" Dean asked, surprised.

"No. I never could get used to traveling by myself. I ride with Joey and Jamie. They're good guys. They won't mind coming to get me."

"Well, they might not mind, but it seems pretty stupid for them to come all the way back out here, when we're all headed the same way," Roman said casually. "Why don't you just ride with us?"

"Really?" Seth asked doubtfully.

"Really," Roman affirmed. "It'll be just like old times."

"Okay, cool," Seth said. "Thanks. I'll just go get my stuff."

"I call shotgun," Dean yelled.

Seth and Roman smiled and shook their heads. Just like old times, indeed.

Seth felt overwhelmingly lucky as he met Roman and Dean, _his brothers_, in the parking garage. Just like countless times before, Roman and Dean bickered cheerfully in the front of the car, as Seth ducked into the back. But unlike old times. Seth did not complain about being stuck in the backseat. This time, he was just happy to be along for the ride.

The End


End file.
